December 20th, 2021 by Calvero

I know this is more niche than my Charlie Chaplin one. And even more niche than the Doctor Who challenge. For example, some of you might be thinking to yourself: “Who the heck are the Smothers Brothers?”

In a nutshell: Tom and Dick Smothers are real life brothers and from 1959 to 2010 they performed as a musical comedy team, with Tom on acoustic guitar and Dick playing double bass. Both of them singing (or attempting to sing) folk songs and breaking into sibling rivalry, occasionally arguing over who mom liked best. They made several comedy albums a few tv series, including the iconic 1960s “Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour” which got them in hot water over their position on the Vietnam War and shortly later, censorship.

I created this 30 Day Challenge as my way to celebrate the 60th anniversary of their first album, “The Smothers Brothers at the Purple Onion” (released in May of 1961), and also because I am a huge fan and wanted to share it with others and maybe introduce them to you if you have no idea who they are.

To say that they have impacted my life is very much an understatement. Things I have gotten interested in stemmed from being a fan of theirs ranging from history, music, to political involvement, and classic comedy, and probably a few other things that I cannot think of right now. My life would be vastly different if it hadn’t been by chance of… well I don’t want to get ahead of myself 😉

So here it is:

  1. How did you become a fan?
  2. Did you ever see them in concert?
  3. Favorite album
  4. Favorite routine
  5. First album you got
  6. Have you lucky been lucky enough to meet them?
  7. Thoughts of the Purple Onion album
  8. Thoughts on The Two Sides of the Smothers Brothers album
  9. …Think Ethnic!
  10. …Curb Your Tongue, Knave!
  11. …It Must Have Been Something I Said!
  12. …Tour de Farce: American History and Other Unrelated Subjects
  13. …Aesop’s Fables: The Smothers Brothers Way
  14. …Mom Always Liked You Best!
  15. …The Smothers Brothers Play It Straight
  16. …Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour (the album)
  17. …Golden Hits of the Smothers Brothers, Vol. 2
  18. Favorite song they sang straight
  19. Favorite interview
  20. Thoughts on the “Smothered” documentary
  21. Thoughts on the book “Dangerously Funny: The Uncensored Story of “The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour” by David Bianculli?
  22. Should season one of the Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour ever be released?
  23. Favorite episode of the Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour (original 60s, 70s, or 80s?)
  24. Favorite Comedy Hour guest?
  25. Favorite Comedy Hour musical guest?
  26. Favorite regular?
  27. Inspired by the Yo-Yo Man to learn (or re-learn) yo-yo tricks?
  28. Favorite piece(s) of memorabilia
  29. Favorite performance (Comedy Hour, late night TV, concert, etc)
  30. Routine or album you would recommend to recruit a new fan?
  31. If a movie/mini-series was made about them, who would you pick to play Tom and Dick?

If you are looking at this and saying “Hey, you have 31 days! I thought this was a 30 day challenge?” Well, it’s in spirit with how they number things, like their album “Golden Hits of the Smothers Brothers, Vol. 2”. There was no volume 1. And the release of their 60s Comedy Hour being released on DVD a few years ago. First was Season 3 (September 2008), then season 2 (October 2009)… season 1 has not been released yet (I am holding out hope!)

And I’ll end my 30 Day Challenge intro with their performance from 1966 on the Ed Sullivan Show. I love it because it’s an excellent short example of how they sang and played, and go into a little of their Mom Always Liked You Best routine:

https://youtu.be/lE06QmexI0c

Posted in 1960s, 20th century, classic comedy, History, Music, Nostalgia, Personal, Smothers Brothers, television Tagged with: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Charlie rescues the kid - The Kid 1921
October 30th, 2019 by Calvero

One of the best things that I like about the films from here on out is that Charlie Chaplin wrote the music for them. Either right as he was making the film or years later. And not just a few years, but a few decades.

The film I picked for this is one that he wrote the music 50 (yes, 50!) years after the movie was originally released. But I’m not here to just write about the music. This post is for my favorite First National film.

And that is The Kid. Where Chaplin just rips my heart out, stomps on it, and leaves me an emotional wreck. Because, really, it is hard not to cry at this film. Some sad crying but also some happy crying.

Basic premise is this: Charlie finds a baby abandoned on the street He decides to bring the baby up as his own at his home in the city slums. And the adventures begin. The kid is played by Jackie Coogan.

I love how Edna Purviance’s character of the mother is portrayed. She is visibly torn over whether to keep the baby or not, and then is continuously haunted by his memory. Not knowing that the little boy she befriends is her son. (UGH! Ugly crying!) When she gives him the toy dog, and then a sad long walk towards the camera, and he waves to her without her seeing it… is beautifully shot.

One of Chaplin’s best scenes in any of his films, where the authorities had found out that Charlie is not the legal father and they come for the “Proper care and attention” (take the kid away to an orphanage).

I had mention in my last post how I loved his films that were autobiographical. This is another one of those. When he was a boy, he was separated from his mother and brother due to the family living in extreme poverty. And just before starting on this film, he lost his first child, Norman, nicknamed Little Mouse, due to some sort of severe deformation (what that was, I have never been able to find out).

Here is a short interview with a much older Jackie Coogan from the early 1980s where he talks about how Chaplin directed him (clip via Criterion YouTube channel):

In 2003, a number of Chaplin’s films (First National and later) were re-released on DVD. There were a wonderful set of introductions done by the amazing Chaplin biographer, David Robinson. Below is for this film. (following clips from the Official Charlie Chaplin YouTube channel)

A wonderful documentary (part of a series of docs done for the above mentioned DVD release) tells the making of the film. It also includes an interview with a more modern filmmaker from Iran and how Chaplin has influenced him.

Finally, the soundtrack:

And a bonus bit: Chaplin, age 81 or 82, (in color and talking a little), conducting a little of his score:

Want to watch the film? You can rent or purchase it streaming at Amazon, or get the DVD or Blu Ray.

And a Happy (belated) Birthday to Jackie, whose 105th birthday was 4 days ago!

Posted in 20th century, 20th century film, Charlie Chaplin, classic comedy, film soundtracks, History, movies, Music, Nostalgia, Silent movies, Soundtracks Tagged with: , , , , , , ,

October 10th, 2019 by Calvero

There’s One A.M. with Charlie coming home drunk and does battle with a clock pendulum and a Murphy bed. There’s Behind the Screen where Charlie discovers a woman who disguises herself as a man in order to get a job movies. And the lovely The Immigrant. Among several others. Like, everything…LOL

Really, really difficult to decide. You would think the less films made for a period would make it easier. But nooooooo. We’re talking Chaplin here. It only gets harder with each following era. All of these are superb! I feel like throwing a dart on a list and see where it lands (or where it lands nearest to) to determine which one I like best.

The one I watch the most, so I’m going with it as my answer: Easy Street. Yeah, I know, it’s a cliche answer (at least, I feel it is), but I really like this one. It’s a bit autobiographical (Chaplin grew up on the slums of late Victorian London streets. The more autobiographical he got, the more I loved the film; i.e. Limelight). There’s gang violence in the streets, and Charlie has to temper the ruffians.

Eric Campbell. Now there’s a classic old fashioned bad guy. But I’m getting ahead of myself. And the lovely Edna! I really love the way she is introduced with that angelic light on her as she plays the piano.

Highlights of the film

Charlie literally gaslighting the heavy (Chaplin actually hurt himself with the lamppost. Needed some stitches on his nose. Sacrifice for the sake of the art!), feeling sorry for the woman who he catches stealing food for her large family so he steals more, the cute little kid who scares the police, and the chase at the end where the heavy gets…well, I don’t want to spoil it for you if you haven’t seen it 😉

https://youtu.be/w3eY0kmKAgM

Posted in 20th century, Charlie Chaplin, classic comedy, movies, Nostalgia, Silent movies Tagged with: , , , , , , , , , ,

January 4th, 2019 by Calvero

Five years ago, I posted 3 Chaplin articles (Doctor Who meets Charlie Chaplin. Sort of – Comic Book Review, Sherlock Holmes – Charlie Chaplin connections, Matching a Charlie Chaplin film with music ) to celebrate his 125th birthday and the 100th anniversary of his first films. This year I have bumped it up to a 30 day challenge!

I had so much fun doing the 30 Day Doctor Who Challenge that I thought I would do another one, this time on another one of my top favorites. But this one was not as easy because, unlike the many different Doctor Who challenges that fans have come up with, there was only one that I could find for Charlie, and I only found a few parts of the 30, and that was from a few years ago.

So I decided to create my own, inspired by the bits that I found:

1 How did you become a Chaplin fan
2 Favorite female costar
3 Favorite keystone
4 Favorite Essanay
5 Favorite Mutual
6 Favorite First National
7 Favorite United Artists
8 Thoughts on “Chaplin” the movie starring Robert Downey Jr
9 Favorite all time Chaplin movie
10 Least favorite
11 Favorite soundtrack
12 Favorite song
13 Favorite unreleased film/home movie
14 Favorite heavy (bad guy)
15 If you went back to meet him, at what time in his life would you do so?
16 Favorite non-fiction book
17 Least favorite book
18 Favorite photo of him in costume(Little Tramp or other)
19 Favorite photo out of costume
20 As of right now, what was the last movie you watched
21 what non Chaplin movie reminds you of a Chaplin movie?
22 what was the last Chaplin movie you saw that you had not seen before?
23 Favorite male costar
24 Favorite scene
25 Favorite story about him told by him
26 Favorite story about him told by someone else
27 What film would you recommend to recruit a fan?
28 Favorite fiction book
29 Favorite documentary
30 Favorite piece(s) of memorabilia that you own

For those of you who want to have an image of the list, I created this one:

I was planning on working on this for this month, but some last minute life changes popped up. I don’t know how often I’ll write a post (took me a few days to write this one), but I know how I’ll answer them. Most of them. Some answers change slightly from day to day, mood to mood, lol. But I’m looking forward to it 🙂

Posted in books, Charlie Chaplin, classic comedy, film soundtracks, History, movies, Music, Nostalgia, Silent movies, Soundtracks Tagged with: , , , ,